c u on top - satyabrata dam

Thursday, February 15, 2018

This post derives out of a brief conversation I had with a
young woman from the audience of young global leaders that I was addressing
somewhere in Eastern Europe. After my keynote, when I was interacting with the
audience, this attractive young woman cornered me with her smile and laid out
her thoughts.

‘Satya,’ she ululated, ‘your talks and words and your life
is really inspiring and I totally get your concept of anything is possible no
matter what, but I could only understand this at an intellectual level. Not at
the practical know-how, how to do it level. A step by step guide in the correct
sequence of action that would get anyone to reach a goal.’

For some reason unknown that evening’s conversation came
around today on this Valentine Day and I decided to give wings to a young
woman’s query several years back. Here’s to you my young unknown lady and to
the rest of you out there seeking answers to this secret, which if you ponder
adequately, isn’t one at all.

So let me first begin by laying down the 12 commandments for
achieving goals. These are absolute unarguable fundamental laws of life in
relation to achieving your dreams and goals.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

It was a hard fought summit. I was only a step below the
needle point. And I stopped. No human had stepped upon this summit before
though many had tried, few even perished in the attempt. It had taken my team
over four weeks of sheer hell to reach where we were. As usual I was leading
the pack of the first summit team. Frozen walls of ice, tumbled down into
oblivion all around us. They were so steep that I could lean out and see all
the way to the bottom of the wall around 1600m below. I had been dreaming of
this summit for many years, since I had first set my eyes upon it from a neighbouring
summit. Since then I had been dreaming that one day I would step upon the crown
of this majestic peak, spearing into the blue sky like a silent sentinel. Yet I
stopped only a step below.

I didn’t wish to go any further. I didn’t wish to step upon
this elusive summit, of which I have been dreaming for so many years. It was
strange. All my anxiety, excitement, agony, everything suddenly evaporated at
that moment. Suddenly, with no apparent reason, I had no more desire to be the
first human to be there. I wanted to retreat and go down. I relayed my decision
to my second in command who stood few meters below me. He gasped and gaped. He presumed
I must have completely lost my mind. I told him to continue with the rest of
the three climbers and get the summit shots, while I would abseil down by
myself. My team created history and those who stood atop received the highest
accolades in the climbing world. I was only mentioned as the leader of this pioneering
expedition.

For many years thereafter I myself couldn’t explain the
rationality of it all. Why would I, right at the verge of success and glory,
would give it up and go down peacefully. It never bothered me thereafter that I
allowed personal success to literally slip through my fingers. I had reached a
place where no human had reached before and I was at peace with that, having
satisfied my own sense of accomplishments and I didn’t wish to go any further,
not even one step that would take me to the very summit. It’s akin to running a
marathon in record time and then just one step before the finishing tape, to
stop and retreat allowing others to go ahead. Totally insane, everybody opined
of that day. People always knew that I was crazy but they all said that on that
day I actually lost it.

For long I didn’t try to analyze my action or tried to
recall what thoughts did actually go through my mind at that moment. Just allowed
it to blend into the history of my climbing career. Just like any other climb,
with seemingly little to ponder about. As a matter of fact, even today as I am
writing about that day, I can’t find a reason for my actions. But someone I spoke
to today, triggered this thought.

And today, after a gap of nearly 20 years I can only
theorize some rationality, for I am sure there was one as I know that I hadn’t
lost it though I continue to be as crazy as I always was.

Firstly, I feel that right at that point, suddenly the
mountain spoke to me and asked me to go down; she said: this far and no more
for you. You must go down. Others can continue. And as always I obeyed the
mountain without hesitation. I descended. Why would the mountain do that I have
no idea, since the day was glorious, weather perfect and there were no
objective hazards at all. In fact on that day and the next, everyone who
summitted, came back without any problems at all.

Secondly I think since for me the destination (the true
summit) wasn’t prized at all as I prized the journey, and what a journey it had
been. I had nearly cracked my skull and broken my neck in a crazy 30 m fall
pendulum during this expedition. And right from the word go we have had crazy
conditions. Crevasses, avalanches, ice falls, collapsing seracs, falling ice
and rocks, poor mixed conditions, incessant snow and zero visibility and the
unrelenting slope of ice and rock, you name it, this climb had it. So I guess
by the time I reached there, my desire had been quenched and I sought nothing
further.

Finally at a very fundamental level, I think I didn’t wish
to complete this journey by actually stepping upon the summit. When I am asked (and
I am asked often) which has been my most challenging and memorable climbs, I always
mention the ones where I failed (in a normal manner of speaking) to summit. To
me these climbs are still incomplete journeys and hence more exciting as I do
not know nor can I tell with certainty how they would have ended had I continued.
It is the element of unknown and a journey that is incomplete, therefore
offering me infinite possibilities to ponder, which makes it more memorable. So
was the case with this climb. Since I would never return to this mountain, it
would always remain incomplete and an enigma.

In a manner of speaking this climb hasn’t ended for me yet
and I would continue to climb it all my life. Since the question will always
remain, what if! Now if that isn’t a good reason to not climb a mountain then
what else it could it be.

Call me crazy or insane I have my own reasons to do or not
to do something. But my highest quest has always been a never ending journey,
where I am always reaching nearer and nearer yet never quite reaching.

Sunday, January 7, 2018

It was the international winter climbing meet in Scotland in
early Feb, few days before my birthday. I had landed in Glasgow, where I was
representing India for the meet. They invited the top two ice climbers from
each country’s climbing federation. We were housed in a beautiful manor of
stone and woods with all modern creature comforts; that we welcomed after a
hard long day of harsh climbing. The climbing mostly occurred around Ben Nevis
National Park and the primary ridge of Cairngorms.

In winters, Scotland is truly a mad crazy ice climbing
paradise or hell depending upon your attitude. Scottish winter climbing grades
are still highly revered and can only be applied to Scotland winter conditions
since these are so specific and specialized. I was a real bad ass climber in
those days, hanging from the edge of my fingers type and took rather
masochistic pleasure of attempting to kill myself in the most challenging
manner. That I didn't succeed proves that I wasn’t good enough.

During the week long meet, one day I decided to
venture alone beyond the designated climbing area in search of something
unknown. Predictably I hadn't told anyone where I was off to. I had a friend’s car,
4x4 with chain traction tyres. And with some food and my ice tools I took off
into the mountains.

Saturday, December 30, 2017

I know I am guilty of not summing up the year 2016 and some
of you might have missed that annual ritual in my blog so here I am back to sum
up 2017.

As always I would begin with some interesting statistics and
then go on to some elaborations.

Countries visited (in chronological order) – Ecuador,
Colombia, Panama, Norway, Greece, Germany, Nepal, Bulgaria, Montenegro,
Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania, Slovenia, Italy, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Total
17 countries including 3 first time (Montenegro, Kosovo, Laos), which has now taken
the number of countries visited to 178. This leaves me around 18 more to chalk
up during the rest of my life. Unless UN
adds more recognized nations to its list.

Total distance covered (approximately) – I travelled to
three continents, crossing the Atlantic and several seas couple of times, and
as per my guesstimate during 2017 I had covered around 148,000.00 km. Of this,
around 100,000.00 by air, 40,000.00 by road and water, and 8000.00 on foot. I
spent total 271 days outside of India and of the 94 days in India, only 22 days
when I wasn’t on the road. And these 22 days were spread through several cities
and towns.

Physical extremities - highest point – just above Balcony on
Everest south side at 8250m, while the lowest must be somewhere underwater in
the Aegean Sea.

January 1st 2017 I was upon a mountain that is
the highest in the world when measured from Earth’s Centre, namely Chimborazo
in Ecuador. It was my third ascent of this peak. From there several other high
mountains including Everest saw my presence. Aberration to my choice of places
to visit happened towards the end of the year when I took an impromptu flight
into Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. What exactly was I doing there beats me
except I know for sure that I was gorging full time on mangoes and exotic
fruits while gulping in staggering number of temples and religious sites in all
shapes and sizes.

As always the year was full of adventures of body, mind and
soul and I met and shared my life with hundreds of people from around the globe
that I crossed paths with at places where neither of us were meant to be, yet
there we were. Memorable among them, an old Finnish man with severe gout
relaxing by the Sea upon a deserted island, a middle aged Swiss Lady in search
of her ideal man, a young girl bereaving the loss of her soul mate, a monk with
FB account full of beautiful girlfriends, a French lady sketching the
magnificent sunset upon Mekong while her partner patiently holding her parasol,
an old German lady capturing her trip through watercolours, while a young
Spanish maid looking for an escape from her life. I found generosity and
kindness everywhere, all doors opened to me and never was I shunned or hated or
turned away. If we are willing to open our soul to others that’s exactly what
we would receive in return, I learned this lesson once again.

There were lives and deaths too. Three of my climbing
friends departed mortality doing exactly what they loved doing while two became proud parents. I continued to spread
my message on dissolving boundaries of body and mind in order to accept and
understand each other through our differences and not live in fear or hatred of
the unknown. I told stories and hearkened more, I stopped and paused often too,
pondering and just learning to be in the being. I continued to read and passing
from one book to another, always leaving one behind from where I picked a new
one.

I finally accepted that to learn some form of musical
instrument I must seek one that is easy and compact to carry and my ambition of
becoming a piano or harp or saxophone virtuoso was as imbecile as impractical.
My piano teacher suggested harmonica and so I now have a harmonica, I also have
a pack of card (though I don’t play cards), which is the same thing more or
less. Both of which are easily carried in person no matter where I go.

I also sent inquiries of my first inspirational book to
several international book agents and publishers. Needless to say they all
declined, either I wasn’t good enough or they weren’t interested in this genre.
Friends suggested self publishing in Kindle, yet I tarry. Let’s see what
happens in this regard in 2018.

I began the year being 4 kilos underweight, then gained some
before Everest, plummeting again abysmally upon the mountain and finishing the
year at exactly where I was at the beginning. Remarkable what a diet of fruits,
salads and brisk walking can achieve.

I am slowly coming to terms in accepting my mother’s
physical absence; time is indeed the healer, even though her memories are
becoming stronger. I talk about her to everyone more, keeping her alive through
my words and passing it to others. I regret less now about the fact that I
didn’t spend enough time with her, having accepted that I always did my best
under the circumstances. Regret is never the solution, rejoicing is. I rejoiced
more this year that I was born to her and that I am whatever I am is due to her
guidance and lessons.

I tried to become a better version of me, and know for
certain that best is yet to come and never will. Yet we must continue to strive
upwards and onwards.

Was the year meaningful, some might inquire... as meaningful
as the word is, it was a year, a collection of 365 days and 31,536,000 seconds
give and take a few. If you want, you can find some meaning within this time
span while my Zen mind has taught me to be without being. Hence if there was a
meaning then it is still out there somewhere while I am just being be. Not all stories can be told, not because some are not worth telling, but because there are simply too many to be told and not enough time to relate and hear. The stories that came out of 2017 might or might not be ever told but they remain the foundation upon which I shall build 2018. And thus from one year to another life will and must go on.

I would like to conclude 2017 by expressing my deepest
gratitude and love to each one of you who showed me the way through your
kindness, love and words and actions. To you, my friends, I offer my stories
weaved out of my memories of this year and the ones gone by while the New Year
and the ones to follow hold promise of untold wealth and priceless memories. Never forget to breathe, to hydrate and to slow down and to look within where all answers lie waiting to be found.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

I am curious to visit and
experience new places, especially those that are labelled difficult to reach,
hostile (geographically) and otherwise out of main touristic destinations. Since
Kosovo declared her independence in 2008, and formed itself as the youngest and
newest European nation, it has been on my travel wish list. Formerly considered
a war torn and ravaged nation, it is presently a haven of peace and tranquillity.
Finally this year, during my European trip, I decided impromptu to dip into
this small nation of wonders. Needless to say, I am primarily attracted to the
natural bounties, mainly mountains and forests, of a nation. Other attractions
like culture, history, craft, museums, and any kind of manmade structures, aren’t
that high on my list. Though I like unplanned trips, which takes twists and
turns according to my impulses, it never hurts to do a bit of research,
especially when Uncle Google is so accommodating. And during this research I came
across an absolute gem called ‘Via Dinarica’ of which, I am ashamed to admit, I
had no clue.

At 1260km, stretching from the
highlands of Slovenia in the north, sweeping south and as well as east and
west, through Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia, finally tapering off
into the accursed mountains of Northern Albania; it is one of the longest
mountain hiking trails in the world. As I dived deeper into this trail
descriptions and reports, I also realized much to my relief and amusement that unbeknownst,
I had already completed large swaths of this trail during my earlier trips to
other countries that share this trail. So I decided that it was time for me to
complete the 130km (approx) Kosovo section of Via Dinarica. Though there are
couple of excellent websites about Via Dinarica, I was finding it hard to find
any concrete details about this trail, regarding exact starting points, places
to camp, resources along the way. I wouldn’t bother about these details if I wasn’t
constrained by time, but this time I was as my visa duration was coming to its
natural conclusion. With my Schengen Visa, I could stay in Kosovo for 15 days,
which I figured was enough for me to not only complete the trail Via Dinarica
but also to plunge at few other places in Kosovo.

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Once an aspiring mountaineer asked,
how to climb a mountain, and I replied, by climbing it. And then the other day someone
asked, how to realize our dreams, and I replied, by realizing it. There are no
secrets to climbing or achieving anything in life; we simply have to do it,
convert our ideas, thoughts, and dreams into action. There is no substitute for
hard work. No matter how amazing our ideas and dreams might be, they will
remain mere ideas and dreams unless we get up one day and take action to make
them really happen.

Newton proclaimed: every action
has an opposite and equal reaction. Our life is nothing but a series of actions
and reactions. Even when we do not act, there is a reaction, non-action
reaction is non-achievement. I wish we could climb a mountain just by dreaming
of it, or contemplation, or mere planning. I remember once during a rather
precarious and difficult section of a climb, my partner asked me, how she could
climb through this pitch. My answer was simple: climb in any way that you
possibly can. I didn’t tell her of any techniques or didn’t offer her any extra
equipment or anchors, but I asked her to dig deep inside of her, deeper than
ever before and to come out with something that she had never done before. And she
climbed through the section eventually.

One of the greatest and influential
books, that has been ever penned, Geeta, which is supposedly a long sermon
delivered by Lord Krishna to the warrior prince Arjun during an epic battle
thousands of years ago, says that only through action or through the Laws of
Karma (action) can we achieve anything. We must always do our duty, our Karma,
our action. Without action nothing would ever happen.

Based upon the Laws of Karma here
is my formula for climbing any mountain or overcoming any hurdles in life. I call
it the 7 Steps Formula –

Step 1 – Take the first step. This
would start your climb. This is the most important step of all, without which
you would never leave ground.

Step 2 – Take the next step and
then another and then more. Just keep going. Never stop or give up till you
have given your best shot to the climb. And if you stop before the place where
you wanted to climb, ask yourself have you given everything that you could
under the circumstances and now you must go down! If the honest answer is ‘yes’
then go down certainly. But if there’s even an iota of self-doubt then continue
with the next step.

Step 3 – dig in hard and don’t
budge no matter much opposition or challenges come your way

Step 4 – always remember that
reaching the top is only half of the climb, often the easier half. Conserve your
energy for the return; don’t get so exhausted that you have nothing left for
the return journey. Don’t go so far that you cannot return.

Step 5 – cater for emergencies
and unexpected obstacles because they are bound to happen. Instead of getting
worried or frustrated when things don’t go as per plan, just face it with
whatever you have. Remember that nothing lasts forever and whatever it is
however bad it may be will also not last forever.

Step 6 – prepare as much as you
can for the climb. Train the hardest, make yourself as well equipped and knowledgeable
as you possibly can, and then train some more. There is no upper limit to
training. General Patton said it best: the more you sweat in peace, the less
you bleed in war. The more you train before the real climb, more are the
chances of reaching the top.

Step 7 – keep going even when you
feel that you can’t take another step. No matter how tired or exhausted you
are, you can always take a step, perhaps a tiny one but a step nevertheless. The
only way you cannot take the next step is if you are dead. Remember when you
decide to give up; you might just be one step below the summit, so take that
step.

Now the obvious question that may arise is why only 7 steps; aren’t there any more steps! Certainly there
are many more steps but these 7 are the fundamental ones, all the others are
derivatives or follow ups or repetitions. Moreover I restricted my climbs to
only 7 steps because once I read somewhere that the human mind cannot grasp a
formula if it involves more than 7 steps and neither can the human body sustain
more complexity beyond 7.

Friday, June 23, 2017

No mountain, not even Everest, is worth dying for and there’s
no triumph upon the summit of any mountain, however easy or hard fought the
summit might be. There’s only exhaustion, trepidation, some amount of
bewilderment and perhaps a sense of relief. Most summits are desolate, hostile
and unfit for human existence. There’s no pot of gold, no glory, no treasure
anywhere on these lofty places where we stay only few minutes after having
struggled through weeks and in some cases months of inhuman conditions. Why do
this, again and again, is the purpose of the climb to summit, how sometimes we
forego all caution and put our very lives at stake to claim that momentary glow
of being at the summit, throwing all cautions to wind. How does one single step
become more important than anything else we have or love including our lives? And
upon no mountain is this more evident than Everest.

When we are too focussed on success or reaching the summit,
we often do not enjoy the climb, cursing every moment of the endeavour. We lose
patience, ability to weigh risk versus gain; our intent becomes an all consuming
drive to reach the goal. The greatest loss indeed is the experience of the
journey, every moment of the climb that teaches us something sublime and
unique. We forget to pause and stare and look around and miss out the subtle
beauty and small success that we achieve with each single step. What is most
important is to do our best, yet not to kill ourselves in the process. Nothing
is more beautiful than life itself. We should push our limits certainly yet
understand how far it can be pushed before we go over the edge. It’s like
blowing a balloon to the maximum but not bursting it in the process.

It is that tiny threshold between life and death where we
reach upon our quest where we must understand and be able to differentiate on
which side of the threshold we are. Most of the times that threshold will
actually take us to the summit, but at times due to circumstances beyond our
control that threshold will paralyze and grip us at a level less than where we
wish to be.

The question is how far we should go before we realize that
we have gone far enough! And that we should turn around and go home before it
is too late. In the mountains I use my gut feelings, my instincts and my
intuition that has been honed over 40 years of climbing and exploring some of
the most dangerous and hostile natural elements. And most importantly I feel
that we all must have a good reason to come back safe, a motivation that is
bigger than life itself and self-preservation, which will push us towards
safety when things are falling apart.

I personally couldn’t care less if I died or survived over
all these years, yet what always brought me back, even from the brink of
oblivion was the thought of my mother waiting for me back home. I could die
happily if she wasn’t around. My self-preservation purely for myself wasn’t
strong enough. So when my mother passed away last year in June, I kind of
wondered what would happen when I am in a dangerous spot next. Many of my
friends urged me to be extra careful in the mountains and some advised that I should
find a new motivation to live. I have always been careful since I value life
yet I must admit that I have now found the ‘motivation’ to keep coming back.

Having lived on the edge all my life, at the brink of death I
have realized again and again that there’s nothing above life. I cherish life
more because I realize how quickly and unexpectedly it could end.

Monday, May 16, 2016

Someone I know, who had enough time and focus, once decided
to count the number of steps it takes from the time one starts walking from
Lukla, climbs to the top of Mt Everest and then walks back to Lukla to catch
the return flight to Kathmandu. On an average this entire journey takes 45 days,
give or take few. When my friend shared his idea to me of counting his steps, I
took it as a joke. It seemed absolutely impossible to me that someone could do
it, even keep a track of steps, especially when gasping for breath above Camp 2
walking into thin air and then into the death zone. It takes all energy and
focus to just breathe and climb and keep our sanity, who could keep counting
steps! But then my friend did it. He counted each and every step, irrespective
of the length, or speed, or place. He counted even the steps he took from his
tent each day to go to the toilet and back, or to the dining tent and back. He counted
the steps that ferried him to his other friend’s camps or for the holy ceremonies
that Sherpas offered to the mountain. If he stirred as much as one step out of
his tent or sleeping bag, he counted. And each day he maintained a diary of the
steps taken for the day. And for the counting he didn’t use any modern fitness
band or pedometer. He simply relied on the most accurate and reliable step
counter designed by nature; his own head. So as he walked along side, he would
keep muttering to himself the steps. It was amazing his focus, determination
and perseverance into recording something that seemed ridiculous at the time he
did it.

We climbed all the way to the top and returned to Lukla. Out
came his calculator and he totalled the steps that he had taken during all the
48 days. The sum total came to a staggering value of 999,689 nearly a million
steps at an average of 20,800 steps each day. When he triumphantly showed me
his discovery, grinning like an overfed baby baboon, I wondered if this has any
significance at all other than the ‘wow’ factor that it takes nearly a million
steps to climb Everest and return, walking to and back all the way from Lukla. I
patted his back, congratulated him on his earth shattering discovery that would
now change the course of history and Everest climbing. And once I bid him
goodbye at Kathmandu I forgot all about it. I think he tried to publish his
finding in couple of climbing journals but wasn’t taken seriously. People were
more interested in his experience of climbing than counting the steps. Soon his
discovery dropped below the radar and the world at large forgot about it.

As a motivational speaker and life coach, I often talk about
achieving big goals with small steps and illustrate how important each of our
steps are, no matter how big or small, the only way to reach the top of any
mountain or life is to take one step at a time. If we think of the entirety of
our endeavour it could look daunting and impossible but the moment we break
down the climb into each of its individual steps and then focus on each of the
tiny steps and start taking them one by one, one after another, we see that the
task or the climb doesn’t seem so daunting anymore. Climbing Everest could be
difficult but taking one little step isn’t. And that’s the key to success in
anything that we wish to achieve in life or upon a mountain. I have used this
methodology countless times while training or guiding and leading people up on
challenging climbs or in corporate offices or in academic institutions and in
life coaching. This formula has never failed. Breakdown everything into its
tiniest manageable steps and then just take them one after another and sooner
or later you would be on the top.

As I was talking about this step by step formula to a friend
recently, I suddenly recalled my crazy friend, who many years back had counted
the steps to Everest. I searched for our old correspondence on the subject and
discovered the exact number of days we had spent and the number of steps my
friend had taken and recorded and realized that I must have taken a similar
number of steps as I was with him most of the time. Suddenly the figures hit me
like thunderbolt. And I understood the significance of this momentous discovery
and how well it fits into my formula for stepping towards success. My friend
wasn’t crazy at all; in fact he was a pioneer. He was applying my formula
towards a practical outcome. If I was theorizing he was proving.

So I sat down and jotted down the days that a typical
Everest expedition member goes through. She lands at Lukla, then walks to the
Everest BC in about 7 or 8 days, and then spends the next 30 to 35 days to
reach the summit and return to BC. Another 3 to 5 days to walk back to Lukla. The
trail from Lukla meanders through lower Khumbu valley of green paddy fields
along rushing gurgling gorges and finally into the high alpine zone of rock,
glaciers and some of the world’s highest peaks. The trail to BC is arduous and
after that the route is suicidal through the infamous Khumbu Icefall, leading
into the Western cwm, snaking its way across and up through sheer rocky-icy
Lhotse face, over yellow band and Geneva Spur to the South Col. From there the
climber makes a beeline along the ridge to the Balcony, South Summit, Hillary
Steps and eventually collapsing upon the summit of Everest; the highest
geographical spot on our planet. Those attempting for the first time have
absolutely no idea what they would endure on their journey to the top of the
world and that they would need to take nearly a million steps in doing so.

Now imagine if my friend, who counted his steps, had taken
even one step wrong; where he might have ended then! The tiny hop he made while
alighting the plane at Lukla or the one he took to climb up to the restaurant
to take his tea, or the one he extended while clicking the morning sun. The most
insignificant and basic of steps that he took, which I wouldn’t even consider
steps to climb Everest, which anyone takes every day of our lives, which we don’t
think has any relevance to our summit; yet if he had taken even one single of
those steps wrong then he wouldn’t be on top of Everest. I am working on a
retrospective theory here: to see the path from the end of the road. When we
reach the end of our journey and achieve our goal, we can look back and justify
each and every one of our steps and actions, and realize that yes each one of
them were necessary for us to be where we find ourselves today at this moment.

My friend’s step counting enterprise serves as a sobering
thought that there’s no short cut to success, we have to work hard and
consistently and keep stepping in the right direction, no matter even if we
have to take a million steps. Like someone said once that the journey of a
million miles must start with one single tiny step.

No matter how far or how big or how seemingly impossible
your goal is, please take that first step and then follow it with the second
then third and so on and so forth. Million steps will take you to the top of
Everest, imagine where you could be if you never stop stepping.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Few weeks back I received a mail from a young climber, who
has just started setting her eyes upon the lofty peaks around the world,
pondering if she could actually climb anything in the world. I guess she found
in me a climber old and bold enough to have climbed and not climbed many
mountains, who might offer her some insights into the insane world of mountains
and climbing. She asked very briefly: the secret of climbing any mountain in
the world.

Before I replied back to her, I really gave this short
question a long overdue thought. We all climb all the time but seldom do we
pause to wonder what the secret of climbing successfully is. Why are some
climbers more worthy than others? What makes a successful climb? And here I mean
reaching the top or ending the desired line or route till the top as success
and not merely making a bold attempt. I analyzed and dissected many of my
iconic climbs, both successful and abortive attempts to compare what made the
difference between the two. And now I have the answer and here is my point of
view to ‘Secret to Climbing’. And the secret is very simple.

Weather – we need the ideal weather conditions to
climb. Though I have climbed through atrocious weather as many of us do to the
top but weather plays most of the times the ultimate deciding factor whether we
summit a peak or not. And this is one factor that is least predictable and
utterly uncontrollable.

Equipment – we need the right kind and quantity of
equipment to succeed. We must have the right kind of gear for the right kind of
climbing goals. And upon high mountains we got to be precise. Nothing more,
nothing less; exactly what we need.

Attitude – you could have everything but if you don’t
have the right attitude, mental setup then you are sure to fail. We need mental
resilience, a happy and positive attitude and a never say die attitude to
succeed. This is more important when we climb as a team, then we got to pick up
our team mates carefully to see that the group mental dynamics are in sync with
the objectives of the climb.

Time – we got to cater for the right amount of time
we are going to spend on a climb. We can’t rush a mountain. For this we need
patience, which is part of attitude and we need the climber’s cool headedness
and his ability to do nothing when nothing can be done. Many good expeditions
had to be called off since they didn’t cater for time. Along with the duration
timing of the climb is paramount. Every mountain, each climb has a best and
worst time to climb. Go for the ideal window and for the ideal duration.

Now as I analyzed and reached my above conclusion I realized
that to succeed in anything in life, we can actually apply this SWEAT formula,
modifying a bit according to the desired field where we wish to succeed. Thereby
my lifelong belief that mountains have all the answers no matter what your
question is; is once again proved correct.

I have been sweating all my life my friends and I intend
continuing to do so. Nothing in the world can compare to the intensity with
which you live when freezing to death hanging from the edge of a sheer ice wall
in death zone, when sweats turn to ice and every breath we inhale actually
tells us what life is all about.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Earlier this week a friend died
in a climbing accident. He wasn’t just another regular bloke hanging off
vertical walls. He was a master of his game, as badass as they come, yet he
died. His safety system had perhaps failed or perhaps the rock upon which he
rested came off. We would never know; he was climbing free-solo, risking his
life to a level unacceptable to most. It’s the level where there is absolutely
no room for error, subjective or objective. It doesn’t matter whether you
failed or the mountain failed; ultimately it’s the climber who is lying dead at
the bottom. And this incident jolted me out of a falsified dream I have been
living through most of my adult life. It wasn’t his death that did this but the
possibility that if he hadn’t died; then what?

I am a firm believer of destiny
in matter of death. It is already destined by some divine power or yet
unexplained scientific phenomenon that our time and date of death is fixed and
nothing can change it. What isn’t determined though is the methodology and
location; which we can influence by our actions through life. I don’t mind
dying at all, either today, tomorrow or in the next twenty years. And if I die
upon a mountain then that would be my absolute achievement in a self-fulfilling
prophecy. What I do mind though that I am involved in a major accident and I don’t
die. What if that day is not my destiny to die, yet I am involved in such a
major accident that paralyzes me for the rest of my life or bereft me of any
body part, vision, or any major functional organ; or leaves me brain dead. A sorry
pitiable vegetable of human form dependent upon others for even a tiny bit of
sustenance. Now that’s the kind of life I am absolutely not ready to accept.

About Me

As a child, i had three wishes: to be a submariner (i did), to be a published author (i did, but won't rest till the Nobel and Booker rest on my mantle) and to be a mountaineer (still trying to fulfill this one).I am otherwise a globe trotting thrill seeker and have climbed the seven summits and skied to both the poles and then some.

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BLOG FOR CLIMBING AND IMPOSSIBLE DREAMS

There is a drama and beauty to be found in the world’s most hard to reach places that far exceed the intensity we experience in our normal everyday lives. Perhaps there is a lesson to be learned from the fact that this pure happiness is usually only achieved after suffering some great hardships. In this mechanistic modern world, our primordial instincts for survival are often left untested, driving us to seek out those places where life is still hard.